


Cinderella

by AsymmetricalButterfly



Category: Tennis - Fandom, Tennis RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 08:30:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20112169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsymmetricalButterfly/pseuds/AsymmetricalButterfly
Summary: Stef needs a shoe that fits.





	Cinderella

Stef lay awake in bed, the only light in the room coming from the alarm clock on his bedside table, intrusively reminding him of the time and that he really should be asleep. With a sigh he turned to look at the offensive glow of the clocks number. 00:37. He’d been lying in bed for well over an hour now and still his mind would not relent and allow him to sleep. That serve. His mind kept coming back to that serve, the easy power followed up by the arrogant nonchalance. He wanted to hate him for it, to have somebody to blame, but somehow it always came back to admiration. Something had shifted, something deep inside. He’d been uneasy when the idea of them playing doubles together had been floated, but there had also been intrigue, a compulsion to take a step closer and take a glimpse behind the curtain. That he’d actually liked what he’d seen had surprised him more than anybody. 

A gentle tap at the door. Shifting slightly to rest on his elbows, Stef looked at the blurry, dark outline of the door with suspicion. Perhaps he’d misheard. There were so many doors on this corridor that he could easily have mistaken a tap at another door for his own. 

Another tap, more urgent this time; it couldn’t be mistaken. He fumbled for the lamp on his nightstand, blinking as he adjusted to the light and brushing back his curls from his face. Smoothing his crinkled pyjama top slightly, he opened the door to the bright light of the corridor.

A sneaker. Stef looked down at the shoe with perplexion, his eyes following the arm holding out the shoe all the way up to the face of the man holding it.

“Nick,” Stef said, trying to mask his confusion.   
“Stefanos.”

“What are you doing here?” 

“You’ve been having so many problems with those crappy Adidas kicks that I thought you might like to have a proper shoe for that left foot of yours,” Nick said with a wink.

“I don’t think that Adidas would let me wear a Nike shoe,” Stef said after a moment.

At this, Nick chuckled and shook his head before tossing the shoe into Stef’s chest which he bumbled slightly before catching it and continue to stare at Nick. This didn’t seem to deter him though, as he sauntered past Stef into the room, running a hand over his racket bag as he made his way into the room and sitting on the bed, leaning back on his hands and taking in his surroundings. Stef took his eyes away from Nick and looked down to the shoe he was holding, rubbing his thumb over the laces lightly, before tracing the gold stitching on the Nike logo. He became aware of Nick’s eyes on him and cleared his throat lightly, a slight blush rising to his cheeks, as he decided to sit down beside Nick on the side on the bed, the shoe resting on his lap. 

This was new territory for them. As much as he’d come to enjoy Nick’s company and easy demeanour over this last week, admittedly struggling to keep up with Nick’s stream of chatter at times, this was the first time it had been just the two of them sitting in a room together alone. 

“This is your own shoe design from Nike, yes?” Stef offered.

“It is. Do you like it?” Nick asked, a twinkle in his eye.

Stef looked down at the shoe and sighed, “I think it’s a little bit loud. The colour, the symbols, it’s too much.” 

“I’m just happy to have a shoe with laces that stay done up.”

Stef turned to look at him, taking in the smile playing around his lips, and relaxing as he realised that Nick was joking with him.

“It’s actually very annoying,” Stef said with a light laugh.

“Which is why I brought you a replacement. Couldn’t let my new best friend hobble around with just one shoe,” Nick said, nudging him in the ribs.

“Well actually the problem is just the laces. We’ve bought some spare laces so that my shoes can be repaired, it’s just very annoying having to stop the match,” Stef explained, earnestly.

“And that’s why I’ve brought you this kind, _loud_ and _too much_ gift. Laces included,” Nick said.

Again, Stef turned to look at Nick, uncertain of the tone in his voice, but instead of looking upon Nick’s face, he caught Nick’s elbow as Nick heaved himself up off the bed. A gentle pang hit his stomach, it was a feeling he couldn’t quite place.

“You’re leaving? Already?” Stef asked.

“Not quite yet.”

Nick reached down to the shoe still sitting of Stef’s lap and picked it up, a further stir hitting Stef’s stomach as he did so. He looked up to see Nick staring at him with an intensity in his eyes that he hadn’t seen before, those dark eyes masking their true meaning.

“We haven’t checked if it fits yet,” Nick said.

With that, he bent to his knees and lifted Stef’s left foot which he traced along the edge of before lifting the shoe to it. Suddenly flustered and overwhelmed by their proximity, Stef jerked his foot back.   
“I really don’t think Adidas -” 

He was interrupted by Nick raising a finger to his lips, pressing into them gently before allowing the softness of his index finger to slide down the lips, catching on the bottom lip gently as he pulled his finger away.

“Cinderella must go to the ball,” Nick said quietly.

With a soft intake of breath, Stef placed his left foot in Nick’s hand, allowing him to slide the sneaker onto his foot, bending his foot slightly as he heel was lowered into it. With his foot in the shoe, Nick let go and looked up expectantly as Stef wriggled his toes, getting a feel for the space of the shoe. A smile that he couldn’t fully explain caught at his cheeks.

“It fits,” Stef said, still smiling.

“So it does,” Nick murmured.

Reaching out again, Nick ran his thumb along Stef’s skin where the sneaker met his ankle, sending a jolt along Stef’s leg. There was something in Nick’s eyes, an intent muddied by slightly hesitation, that he was somehow intoxicated by. He wanted this moment to last, just the two of them and this energy that existed between them in this moment alone. It was over as quickly as it came though, as Nick straightened up so that their eyes were level, that look still etched into them. Stef met his eye, matching his intensity, feeling a sudden urge to decode their meaning.

“I’m sorry that I beat you tonight,” Nick said so quietly that he was almost inaudible.

“No you’re not,” Stef replied, smiling wistfully.

“Maybe not completely, no.”

“We’ll share the court again, I’m sure.”   
“As dubs partners or rivals?”

“Both, I hope.”

“Which do you prefer?” 

It took Stef a moment to respond, “I prefer having you on my side of the court.”

Nodding slightly, Nick edged closer to Stef who found his eyes inexplicably drawn to the parting of Nick’s lips. Lips that were just centimeters from his own before landing softly against his own. Dizzy with shock, his head whirling with confusion and emotions that he couldn’t comprehend, he pulled away from Nick and stood up. Turning from Nick, he touched the lips where Nick’s had been just moments earlier as he heard Nick stand up behind him, followed by footsteps towards the door. He turned his head slightly, reluctantly, as he heard Nick’s hand on the door handle, pausing as he twisted it. Their eyes met briefly and before he even felt his body moving, he found himself catching Nick’s hand and pressing him up against the door, kissing him a ferocity that he didn’t know burned inside him. He felt Nick’s free hand running through his curls, their mouths not breaking for a second as Nick guided him onto the bed, lying his body on top of Stef’s. He reached for the waistband of Stef’s shorts, but paused, breaking the kiss and looking down at Stef’s foot.

“I think it’s time for Cinderella to lose the glass slipper.”

  
  



End file.
